Just a Hephaestus Kid
by RosemaryJohnSherlock
Summary: Nico x maleOC, Oneshot, I promise he is cool! If you don't enjoy, don't read. Basically, fluffy romance for Nico because he deserves true love. When Leo figures out that his little brother has a crush on his friend, his plan to get them together isn't that great. But it works, and that's all that matters. Review please! T for kissing.


Just a Hephaestus Kid

Leo knew it was wrong to have a favorite brother, but he did. Donny was a really great kid, if a little odd. (Which, coming from Leo, meant he was _pretty _odd.) That was why he was a bit reluctant to see him dating Nico DiAngelo.

Not that Nico wasn't great. Leo had saved the world with him (Take that, Dirtface) and the kid had been through a lot. Maybe not enough to date his little brother though.

He turned back to his current project: Festus 2.0. He was hoping to restore the dragon to his former glory by building a new control disk using the ancient plans by Archimedes.

"Leo! I lost Ebony again!" A voice called through bunker nine. Leo blinked and looked up.

Donny was a little different from the typical child of Hephaestus. He had the same dark hair, which was curly like Leo's. he was even shorter than Leo was, being only fifteen to Leo's now seventeen. That was basically where their similarities ended, appearance-wise. Donny had light blue eyes, and he looked pale, as if he never went outside. His clothes never seemed to get dirty, despite practically living in a machine shop. He smiled as often as Leo did, which meant pretty much all the time, except his was softer. Leo's smile said _what can I blow up today_ whereas Donny's exclaimed _today is going to be amazing. _

"What?" Leo blinked, slowly emerging from his machinery-induced haze. Donny gave an exasperated sigh.

"Ebony is missing again." Donny pouted. Now it was Leo's turn to sigh.

"How many times are you going to lose that cat in my bunker?" He said, but he was smiling.

"Bunker Nine is fair game for anybody, Leo, as long as you let them in."

"Fair point. I knew I was catnip to girls, who knew it worked on cats too?" Leo joked, snapping his suspenders.

"Better not let Caly hear you say that." Donny teased. Leo paled, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Let's find a cat then. Where do you think he went this time?"

"Usually, someplace warm. I already checked the campfire and the Hestia cabin, I even checked to see if the Aries kids had set anything on fire. Nothing." He said, kicking the ground in frustration.

"Okay, maybe the motor room? He might find a warm engine to sit near." Leo said, gesturing towards the back of the bunker. Donny nodded.

"Sounds like a good place to start." His soft little grin broke out, and Leo let one of his own break free.

Ω

Nico really hated animals…well, sort of. They hated him, being a son of the god of the underworld and all. He had been told he smelled like death. Still, maybe death was better than B.O.? He tried not to think about it too much.

He was pretty sure he _disliked_ them at least. But, when he sensed a weakening life-force he couldn't just ignore it. That would only prove to the other campers that he was Death Boy. (You would think the Apollo cabin at least could make up a better insult, but no.)

So Nico was trekking through the woods trying to find whatever it was before something bad happened. It was dark under the tree canopy, and his blade seemed to deepen the gloom rather than pierce it. He was working mostly off of his weird death sense sight-wise.

He knew that he was close when he heard the faint mews. He tried to hone in on the cold feeling in his chest, pulling on some invisible thread that connected him to the creature. He was surprised to walk straight into a tree.

"What the-" he muttered, ribbing his forehead and glaring at the offending foliage. _I can sense the death of a tree_, he wondered, before he saw the green eyes peeking at him through the branches above his head.

He glanced upwards in disbelief. He was supposed to save a cat from a tree. What was his life coming too? Knowing the cat would probably want to stay in the tree rather than be near him, he climbed up to help it. He was grateful that he was wearing a loose pair of jeans today.

"Okay fella, I'm not gonna hurt you." He said softly, crooking his fingers at the cat.

The cat leapt from its perch into his arms with more force than earthly possible, causing Nico to land on his back on the forest floor. The air whooshed out of his lungs and he couldn't even find enough air to groan in pain.

The cat, he decided to dub it Evil at this point, was nuzzling calmly into his aviator jacket as if it were preparing to take a nap there. Evil the cat didn't seem to mind him at all.

"Okay," he said when he could breathe again, "I know it sucks for you to be in a tree, but that doesn't explain-oh."

Nico noticed the long gash on the cat's left side. It wasn't too deep, but it was incredibly long, almost the entire length of its body. He reached up a hand and felt the fur matted with blood.

"We need to get that fixed…I don't know if Apollo kids can do animals, and I don't know where to find a satyr this late. Plus, in case you haven't noticed, we're really far from camp." Nico stroked the fur on Evil's head gently. The cat head-butted his hand, then pointed his nose towards the woods to their left.

"That way? That's just Valdez's bunker." Nico thought a minute before getting up hurriedly.

"Leo always manages to hurt himself on accident, blowing something up. Maybe he has some first aid supplies…It's worth a shot." he added, carefully cradling the cat as he trudged off to find help.

Ω

"Leo, he's not _anywhere._" Donny whined. Leo glanced to his brother and immediately regretted it. It broke his heart to see Donny this upset.

"I'm sure Ebony is fine. He'll turn up any minute, you'll see." Leo ruffled his younger brother's hair, attempting to comfort him.

"He probably just met a nice girl cat and they went off to find someplace private." Leo joked. Donny's morose expression was replaced by one of confusion.

"What?"

"Well, when a boy cat and a girl cat love each other-" Leo was cut off by a horrified shriek from Donny, who had clamped his hands over his ears.

"That's so not funny, Leo!" he said, his pale skin going pink.

"It is, you just can't hear me laughing." Leo grinned innocently and Donny warily lowered his hands.

"And then they-" Leo started, bursting into laughter when Donny's hands went to his head so fast he missed his ears and smacked himself in the face.

"Ow. I'm so off team Leo." He groaned, and Leo had to clutch his sides he was laughing so hard. Soon, both boys were practically rolling on the floor, quest for the missing almost forgotten. Until Nico strolled in.

Donny's breath hitched as the laugher died in his throat. Standing near the bunker doorway was the hottest demigod at camp, and his longtime crush, Nico DiAngelo.

His aviator jacket hung off his lean frame, and his messy dark hair fell into his eyes. Those eyes, which other kids claimed were dark and cold, now made his heart skitter in his chest. They were just so brown, like warm melted chocolate. How anyone could find them unfeeling, he had never understood. And, wrapped lovingly in his arms was-

"Ebony!" Donny cried, racing to the taller boy and snatching the cat from his hands. He quickly examined him, paled when he saw the scratch, and then set off to grab the first aid kit.

Ω

"'Boney?' Is that some sort of new nickname for me?" Nico asked, keeping a blank expression. It was difficult, seeing as how _he _was here.

The camper had come in two months ago, at the beginning of the summer. As soon as Nico had looked at those ice-blue eyes, he knew he was a goner. Later, he had been surprised to see a glowing hammer floating above his head at the campfire.

Since then, Leo had taken the kid under his wing. Because Leo was one of Nico's few friends, it meant he saw his fair share of him. His curly locks were a just a shade lighter than Leo's, more coco than soil colored. His eyes looked like a frozen lake glittering in the sunlight, and he had this one dimple on his left cheek that made Nico breathe funny.

"Hey, Nico. No, that's the cat's name." Leo clapped him on the shoulder in a friendly way. Nico tried not to flinch at the contact.

"You have a black cat named _Boney_?" Nico quirked an eyebrow. Leo laughed and shook his head.

"Tt's my brother's cat, and he named it Ebony. You know, like the color?"

"I'm familiar with the different forms of the color black, Leo." Nico deadpanned.

"Yeah, the whole goth vibe. You ever consider something new? Maybe chartreuse? Or vermillion…no, too red." Leo kept his grin, and pretty soon Nico smiled, just a little.

He would never tell Leo, but he did appreciate the humor. It was better than awkward silence.

Ω

If seeing Ebony found wasn't enough to give him a heart attack, Donny was sure that Nico's smile would do the trick.

He walked back towards his brother, carrying a bandaged and purring Ebony in his arms. He tried to avoid staring at Nico. He didn't want him to feel weird, which would happen if he found out that the runt and wacko of the Hephaestus cabin had a crush on him.

"All better." He called, showing Leo and Nico the content cat.

"That was quick." Nico said, slightly amazed.

"Well, I mean…" Donny trailed off.

"Donny here is a whiz with animal stuff. He wants to build machines to help veterinarians and save cute furry creatures. Me, I have trouble dealing with organic life forms." Leo said, grinning lazily.

"Yeah, you can barely keep up with your girlfriend." Donny joked, and he was surprised to see Nico DiAngelo laugh. At something _he _said. It made his heart start going double time.

"Speaking of which," Leo said, waggling his eyebrows at Donny.

_Oh gods, no, _Donny thought. Leo wouldn't…

"Do you like any guys at camp, DiAngelo?" He said, causing Nico to blush. Donny's head was reeling; Nico liked boys? Did that mean that he had a shot?

He chastised himself mentally; just because Nico liked boys didn't mean that he _had_ to like him. That would be stupid. But, it did fill him with just a flicker of hope.

"Um…I'm not sure. I haven't really gotten to know very many people, considering I'm kinda hated." He shrugged, like it was no big deal.

"Pssh," Leo waved his hand to dismiss the idea. "I happen to know tons of people who like you. Like Donny here. Oh look at the time, I'm supposed to meet Calypso at not here. Bye!" And he ran from the bunker before Donny had a chance to strangle him. As if sensing that Donny needed to use his hands to kill Leo, Ebony leapt to the floor.

How could Leo tell Nico about his crush? At least he hadn't said, "By the way, my little brother is so into you that he dreams about you two holding hands at the fireworks", but he might as well have!

With the way Nico was staring at him right now, he wished that he could disappear.

Ω

Just like every time Nico was overwhelmed, his face locked on a thoughtful frown. Donny, sweet, shy, impossibly funny Donny, liked _him_? He knew Leo wouldn't lie, and he also knew that he wouldn't have said anything unless he thought the feelings were mutual. And boy were they ever.

Before Nico could think, his hands were reaching for Donny's shirt collar, pulling their faces together.

Ω

Donny wasn't expecting to be kissed. He also wasn't expecting the kiss to be so nice.

When the boy you like pulls you into a kiss by your shirt, Donny figured that it would be a little rough. But Nico was gentle, barely ghosting his lips over Donny's. The effect was feathery-caresses that had Donny's heart somewhere outside his chest, on the moon maybe?

When they broke apart, the smile on Nico's face just about stopped his heart. Talk about drop-dead gorgeous. When Nico laughed, Donny realized he had said that out loud. He felt the blush creep over his cheeks again, but when Nico leaned in and placed a kiss there too, Donny decided that he wouldn't mind being embarrassed forever.

"Um, this might be weird, but do you want to see the fireworks with me?" Donny managed to squeak, wincing at how his voice sounded. Maybe the embarrassed thing wasn't a good plan.

Nico's smile made the room light up.

"I would like that very much." Nico replied, before leaning in to kiss Donny again.

Ω

"Do you want to hear the talk now?"

"Leo!"


End file.
